Tembo House Hotel

Tembo House Hotel occupies a restored merchant building right on the Shangani seafront, which makes it one of the few places in Stone Town where you can step from the old quarter's alleys onto the sand. The building has a long guest list, from Henry Morton Stanley and Ludwig Krapf to Mahatma and Indira Gandhi, and its interiors lean into that heritage: carved Zanzibari four-poster beds draped in mosquito nets, stained glass fanlights, antique chests and whitewashed walls. Rooms range from double, twin and triple rooms with sea-view balconies to Deluxe and Presidential Suites and the separate Freddie Mercury Apartments. Life centres on the pool terrace facing the Indian Ocean and the Bahari restaurant on its verandah, and the Peace Memorial Museum, Palace Museum, Forodhani Gardens and the Old Fort are all within a few minutes on foot, so it works well as a base for exploring Stone Town before or after a safari.